Reference

Antiscia are mirror points: the point sharing a planet's declination on the other side of the solstice axis (0° Cancer/0° Capricorn). Contra-antiscia instead mirror across the equinox axis (0° Aries/0° Libra), with the opposite declination. When a planet falls exactly on another planet's antiscion or contra-antiscion, that traditionally counts as a hidden connection — just as meaningful as a regular conjunction, but without a shared longitude. Astrae calculates this for every planet against every other planet and angle, orb 2°.

Astrocartography turns your birth chart into lines on a world map: places where a planet stood exactly on the horizon or culminated at its zenith at the moment of your birth. A paran (or "power spot") is a place where the lines of two different planets cross — there, both planets are at such an angle at the same time.

Astrae is honest about what astrology is and isn't. A careful double-blind test (Carlson, 1985, published in Nature) found that experienced astrologers could not match birth charts to the correct personality profiles better than chance. So why do readings still feel accurate? Largely thanks to the Barnum effect (Forer, 1948): broad, flattering descriptions in which almost everyone recognizes themselves. Astrae uses astrology as a tool for reflection and self-insight, not as proven prediction. That's the guiding idea: no fate or fixed destiny, but language that fits how you already understand yourself today — closer to a conversation with a psychologist than an oracle.

Not a planet, but a "centaur": a small body with a crossing orbit between Saturn and Uranus, discovered in 1977. That crossing orbit makes its long-term position too unstable for the DE421 ephemeris that calculates the rest of your chart — so Astrae fetches Chiron separately from JPL Horizons. Astrologically Chiron is known as "the wounded healer": where your deepest vulnerability lies, and at the same time where your greatest ability to help others with it lies.

A composite chart isn't a chart of you or the other person, but of the relationship itself: for every planet and for the Ascendant/Midheaven, the mathematical midpoint between your two positions is taken. Astrae uses the direct midpoint method (the most common variant); the alternative Davison method first calculates a midpoint moment and place and draws a whole new chart for that — a different technique, not used here. Composite charts are mainly used in modern Western astrology and are considered somewhat more speculative than a regular synastry comparison.

The boundary between two consecutive houses — the exact point where one house ends and the next begins. The Ascendant, for example, is the cusp of house 1. A planet close to such a cusp can carry the themes of both neighboring houses.

Every 30° zodiac sign splits into three 10° decans, each with its own "sub-ruler" — an age-old, astrologically legitimate refinement on top of your sign placement. If you fall in, say, the 2nd decan of your sign, the sub-ruler's energy blends with that of your sign itself. Astrae calculates this from your exact degree within the sign, per planet.

A classical measure of how "at home" a planet is in a sign. A planet in its own sign (domicile) or its exaltation works powerfully and unhindered; in the opposite sign it's in detriment or fall and has to work harder. Peregrine means neither — neutral. Only the seven classical planets (Sun through Saturn) have dignities — Uranus, Neptune and Pluto were unknown to the tradition. It speaks to ease, not to good or bad: a challenged planet often works harder and more consciously.

The apparent yearly path of the sun across the sky, seen from Earth — the plane in which (almost) all the planets of our solar system move. Astrae calculates in ecliptic longitude: a planet's position measured along this plane, from 0° to 360°, where each sign takes up exactly 30°. That's the longitude you see throughout your results.

Every zodiac sign belongs to an element (Fire, Earth, Air or Water — your basic temperament) and a modality (Cardinal, Fixed or Mutable — how you move into action). Together they form the balance you see on the Core page.

A way of dividing the sky into twelve houses from your birthplace — each house stands for an area of life (house 7 = relationships, house 10 = career, and so on). Astrae offers seven systems, your choice. Equal House: each house exactly 30° from the Ascendant — simple and robust at any latitude. Whole Sign: the oldest (Hellenistic) system, where the whole sign of the Ascendant is house 1 and each following sign the next house — so house and sign coincide. Placidus: the most widely used worldwide, dividing the houses by time, and can be mathematically undefined at extreme latitudes (Astrae then falls back to Equal House). Also available: Porphyry, Koch, Campanus and Regiomontanus — four further systems, not explained individually here.

Astrae doesn't use ready-made horoscope tables or rules of thumb: every planet position in your chart is computed with Skyfield, an astronomy library that runs on JPL's DE421 ephemeris — the same class of calculation model used by professional astrology software and space agencies for precise celestial mechanics. For Chiron, which isn't in DE421, Astrae fetches the position separately from JPL Horizons. That means: no template per birth month, but a unique calculation for your exact moment and place.

Not a planet and not a planetoid, but a calculated point: the farthest point (apogee) of the Moon's orbit around Earth. That point advances slowly and takes about 8.85 years to travel once through the whole zodiac. In astrology, Lilith is read as your untamed, authentic desire — the part of you that doesn't conform to what "should be".

The Lunar Node is the point where the Moon's orbit crosses the ecliptic — not a celestial body, but a calculated intersection. The "mean" node moves steadily and predictably; the "true" node oscillates around it with a small amplitude, because the Moon's orbit itself constantly wobbles slightly. Astrae shows the mean node by default, consistent with most astrology software.

The monthly counterpart of the Solar Return: a full chart for the moment the Moon — which moves far faster than the Sun — returns to your precise natal Moon degree, which happens roughly every 27.3 days. Where the Solar Return sets the tone for your year, the Lunar Return colours the coming lunar cycle, with emphasis on your emotional rhythm. Astrae calculates the next return moment and looks at which natal house the Lunar Return Moon, Ascendant and Sun fall into — that house points to the area of life getting emotional emphasis this cycle. Here too: calculated at your birthplace.

The imaginary north–south line that runs directly overhead and underfoot, seen from where you stand. The Midheaven is the point where the ecliptic crosses that meridian — which is why a planet there "culminates": it reaches its highest point in the sky.

Alongside the five major aspects (conjunction, sextile, square, trine, opposition), Astrae calculates nine minor aspects. The four best known: semi-sextile (30°), semi-square (45°), sesquiquadrate (135°) and quincunx (150°). The other five — quintile, biquintile and the septile family (septile, biseptile, triseptile) — are more specialist and aren't explained separately here. All nine are traditionally treated as secondary and subtler in effect. The four above get a much tighter orb than the major aspects (1.5°, quincunx 2°) and no extra orb for the Sun and Moon — a minor aspect stays minor. In the wheel you can spot all nine by the dashed line.

"Natal" literally means "at birth" and refers to your birth chart: the fixed position of the planets at the exact moment and place you were born. Wherever you see "natal" — natal Sun, natal Saturn — it refers to that original, permanent position, as distinct from, say, today's transiting (current) position.

The allowed deviation from the exact aspect angle, in degrees. A square is exactly 90° — but with an orb of 6° we still count everything between 84° and 96° as a square. The smaller the orb on an aspect in your results, the more exact (and often the more noticeable) that aspect is. The Sun and Moon get a slightly wider orb than the other planets, because their aspects carry more weight.

Declination is the "latitude of the sky": how far north or south of the celestial equator a planet stands, independent of its ecliptic longitude. A parallel is when two planets sit at (almost) the same declination — it works like a conjunction. A contraparallel is when two planets are the same distance from the equator but on opposite sides (one north, one south) — it works like an opposition. This technique is independent of the regular aspects (which all work on ecliptic longitude) and is calculated by Astrae with a 1° orb.

One of the "Arabic Parts" from Hellenistic astrology — not a planet, but a calculated point based on your Sun, Moon and Ascendant. It traditionally marks where luck and wellbeing come to you most easily. For a day chart (Sun above the horizon) the formula is Ascendant + Moon − Sun; for a night chart, Ascendant + Sun − Moon. Astrae calculates this automatically from your already-computed chart, no extra data needed.

Seen from Earth, a planet sometimes appears to move backward through the zodiac for a while — an optical effect caused by the difference in orbital speed between Earth and that planet. Traditionally this is read as a period to turn that planet's theme inward, revisit it, or slow it down, rather than push it outward.

The moment a transiting planet returns exactly to the spot where it once stood in your birth chart — astrologically, the completion of that planet's full cycle around your chart. The best known is the Saturn return, around your 29th and 58th year.

A symbolic, not literally astronomical, technique: each day after your birth stands for one year of your life ("a day for a year"). For your current age, Astrae calculates the chart for the moment birth + as many days as you are years old, at your birthplace and clock time. The progressed Moon is the fastest and most-used indicator (it shifts about one sign every two to three years); aspects between your progressed and natal planets point to themes active this year of your life. An older, less mainstream technique than transits, but with a long tradition in Western astrology.

A classic technique for "what will this year bring": a completely new chart for the exact moment the Sun returns each year to your precise birth degree. Astrae calculates this moment and then looks at which natal house the Solar Return Ascendant, Sun and Moon fall into — that house points to the area of life getting the most emphasis this year. Calculated at your birthplace, the most common convention; some astrologers instead use the place where you actually spend your birthday, which gives a different Ascendant.

The comparison between two complete birth charts: what aspects do one person's planets form with the other's? That gives a picture of the dynamic between two people, beyond what either chart already tells on its own.

The current, daily-changing position of the planets, compared with the fixed planetary positions of your birth chart. Where your natal chart never changes, transits keep shifting — that's the basis of the "Today" page.

Popular "birthday books" link your entire personality to nothing but your birth date. But astrologically speaking, your birth date only determines your sun sign — one of ten factors. Your moon, ascendant, houses and aspects depend on your birth year, time and place: two people born on the same day in a different year often share only their sun sign and little else. That's why Astrae always calculates your full birth chart from your exact birth moment — never a fixed profile per calendar date.

Research on journaling and reflective writing builds on decades of work by psychologist James Pennebaker. It shows that it helps to order your experience into a coherent story yourself — with cause and effect rather than scattered impressions. That measurably pays off: less stress, less rumination, more self-insight. It works through the thinking process itself, not through the accuracy of whatever prompted the reflection. Astrae's reading is such a prompt: a structured way to think about yourself. The value lies in the reflecting, not in a prediction.